Members of Israel’s Ultra-orthodox community attacked women from a feminist group as they held a prayer service at the Western Wall in East Jerusalem on Monday, on the day of International Women’s Day and the 30th anniversary of the group’s foundation.
Ultra-orthodox protesters could be seen attacking members of the ‘Women of the Wall’ group, who fight for the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall. The female worshippers were forced to leave the main section, moving onto the women’s section and eventually finishing their service in the egalitarian worship area.
Rabbi Pam Frydman, a participant in the women’s prayer, said that the group was also harassed in the women’s section.
“We were being pushed constantly, it was difficult for the women in our group to be able to be together because the Ultra-orthodox women were pushing on us so hard and not letting us move through the crowd,” she said.
Women’s prayer services at the Wall have long been contentious among the Orthodox community, who regard the display as offensive to religious sensibilities.
In 2013, a High Court ruling prohibiting women from carrying a Torah or wearing pray shawls at the wall was overturned.